My Lunch

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

“My Lunch”
Scrubs episode

J.D. attempts to console a depressed Dr. Cox after two of his patients die of rabies.
Episode no. Season 5
Episode 20
Written by Tad Quill
Directed by John Michel
Production no. 520
Original airdate April 25, 2006
Episode chronology
← Previous Next →
"His Story III" "My Fallen Idol"
List of Scrubs episodes

"My Lunch" is the 113th episode of the American sitcom Scrubs. It originally aired as Episode 20 of Season 5 on April 25, 2006.

The episode is based on a real life case of the death of four patients from rabies contracted by organ transplants and is the highest rated episode of the series, tied with My Screw Up.

Contents

[edit] Plot

J.D.'s latest goal is to have lunch with Dr. Cox who, in typical fashion, rejects him and heads to the grocery store. J.D. follows him where they encounter a former patient, Jill Tracy, who has been stood up for a date. A few days later, Jill dies with all signs pointing to suicide by drug overdose. J.D. feels guilty that he, as a doctor, was unable to see the signs that she was depressed. Jill's tragedy proves to be good news for three of Dr. Cox's patients in need of transplants, one of whom is a close personal friend of his. Dr. Cox takes J.D. out to lunch and reminds him that he is not responsible for her death, as she did not come to him for help. Cox tells J.D. that he cannot blame himself for patients' deaths that are not his fault; once he starts, he will ruin himself.

In a subplot, Carla and Elliot speculate the Todd's raucous and inappropriate behavior may be cover up for his homosexuality. They help him come to terms with his sexuality, in an attempt to stop his inappropriate innuendo, but their efforts prove to be futile as he begins directing his inappropriate comments towards men instead. Elliot and Carla talk to the Todd about his behavior, and it turns out the Todd was scamming the girls with the idea that "chicks dig gay dudes." The Todd walks down the hallway, hitting on both men and women. The Janitor stops the Todd and asks "What the hell are you?", to which he replies, "I'm The Todd".

Meanwhile, the three transplant patients, despite originally showing signs of improvement, take an inexplicable turn for the worse, deteriorating rapidly. Jill's autopsy reveals she did not die of an overdose; she had died of rabies, meaning all three transplant patients now have rabies too. Despite the best efforts of the staff, the first two patients die. J.D. tries to console a depressed Dr Cox with lunch, telling him it wasn't his fault. The first two patients were in critical condition and would have died in a matter of hours, and Dr. Cox had to make a call; J.D. says he would have made the same decision in his place, which seems to make Dr. Cox feel better. They are then paged for another emergency. Dr. Cox's friend dies, sending him into a guilt-ridden meltdown; the patient wasn't in critical need of a kidney, and his transplant could have waited. J.D. reminds Dr. Cox that "The second you start blaming yourself for people's deaths, there's no coming back", but Dr. Cox, in a rare show of emotion and now in tears, merely says "You're right" and leaves the hospital.

[edit] Production

The plot is based on the true story of three patients who died in June 2004, due to rabies contracted by organ transplants.[1][2] However, as the commentary on the Season 5 DVD mentions, the episode took some dramatic license, as the organs from one donor do not usually all go to the same hospital.

[edit] Reception

This episode is tied for the highest-rated episode of Scrubs on TV.com (9.8 out of 10), tied with "My Screw Up".

The episode was criticized for the unlikelihood that Jill's organs matched all three patients, although the critic later acknowledged that he was unaware that the episode was based upon a real case.[3] Amazon.com's Donald Liebenson calls it a "powerful episode that shows a welcome maturity". Liebenson is also thankful that "the music rights were secured for the DVD release so that The Fray's 'How to Save a Life' is playing on the soundtrack when Dr. Cox has his own tragic setback."[4]

[edit] Continuity

  • In the sixth-season episode "My Long Goodbye," Dr. Cox sees (or imagines seeing) the ghost of a pregnant Jill Tracy, who died in this episode.
  • The day this episode aired is the same day Elliot planned on getting married according to "My Journey".

[edit] Featured music

[edit] Guest Stars

  • Nicole Sullivan as Jill Tracy.
  • Rachel Winfree as Jill's mother, who agrees to donate her daughter's organs.
  • David Warshofsky as Dave Bradford, Dr. Cox's friend, who needs a kidney transplant.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Keller, Joel (January 17, 2007). Bill Lawrence of Scrubs: The TV Squad Interview. TV Squad. Retrieved on 2007-06-03.
  2. ^ Rabies-infected organs kill 3 patients. CNN (July 1, 2004). Retrieved on 2007-06-03.
  3. ^ Keller, Joel. Scrubs: My Lunch. TV Squad. Retrieved on 2007-06-26.
  4. ^ Liebenson, Donald. Scrubs - The Complete Fifth Season Scrubs - The Complete Fifth Season. Big6 Skills Learning Center. Retrieved on 2007-06-26.

[edit] External links

v • d • e
Scrubs
Main characters
Other characters
Setting
Music
Crew
Notable episodes
Episode list · "My First Day" · "My Old Lady" · "My Screw Up" · "My Way Home" · "My Lunch" · "My Musical"